Thursday, August 31, 2017

As most of you are all aware, Hurricane Harvey turned out to be an extremely catastrophic disaster to Texas and the surrounding states. Houston, Texas was affected the most and as I continued to watch the news and coverage each day, my heart broke even more. Not many of you know this but, I used to live in Texas a few years back. I have friends there and people that I adore that I am friends with from blog-land. I knew that I just couldn't sit back watching the TV screen anymore. Just crying and praying. I HAD to DO something.

So I teamed up with the American Red Cross NJ and spoke to their Special Events Manager, Aimee Alven and decided that I wanted to help raise money for all those families and pets that have been affected by this horrific storm. I know what it's like to get flooded as I live in a flood zone myself at the Jersey shore but I do not know what it is like to lose my job, my home, my vehicle and then some because of floods.

So I am asking each and every one of you, to please open up your hearts and help me and the Red Cross to raise as much money as we can, so that we may help these families. Our goal is to raise $25,000 or more! One donation at a time, one family at a time. Would love to see us reach that goal and even pass it! These families need everything! They need the basics, food/shelter/clothing. But the children need some new toys to give them a sense of comfort. Of what life was like before the storm. People need their prescriptions filled, that they were not able to grab in time before fleeing their flooded homes. Some people have medical and health needs that need to be met. What about the animals? Some pets are lost and are not with their owners. Some are strays. But nonetheless, they too, deserve to be rescued, fed and kept some place safe and warm.

After the water is gone, there will be thousands of millions of dollars worth of clean up and restoration that needs to be done. Building expenses to rebuild. So while donations of clothing and food are definitely needed and appreciated, what these people need more than anything is money donations. So I am asking each of you to please donate what you can. And please share my link on your blogs, your Facebook and social media accounts and let's help the Red Cross raise more money to help these families. We go out and purchase crafting supplies all the time... so let's sacrifice that next stamp set or crafty tool and help a small child or a family in need. Let's do this, one donation at a time, one family at a time. I thank you in advance for your generosity and giving heart. And please know that ALL donations go directly to the Red Cross. I do not receive any monies for this at all. I am simply volunteering my time to do something to help. You may call the Red Cross should you choose to if you are wanting to know where the money goes. Thank you again!

It will say that you are supporting me, but this just means you are on my team and you are helping to support me in my fight to raise money for this campaign. Again, all proceeds go directly to the Red Cross. Please share this link on your social media accounts.

2. Be sure to include a link back to Jo's Scrap Shack and to the challenge post you are entering your project into

3. THREEentries per person are allowed for each challenge and you must post a separate blog post for each entry.

4. For all entries -NO BACK LINKS ACCEPTED- The date on your blog post should be dated between the start date & the end date for the challenge you are entering, in order to be eligible for the challenge & prizes

5. You may link up to other challenges but be sure to link back to Jo's Scrap Shack and to the challenge post you are entering

*All entries that do not meet the challenge requirements

WILL NOTbe eligible for the top 3, any sponsor wins or any random wins by JoAll random wins will only be mailed within the US and Canada only.

2. Be sure to include a link back to Jo's Scrap Shack and to the challenge post you are entering your project into

3. THREEentries per person are allowed for each challenge and you must post a separate blog post for each entry.

4. For all entries -NO BACK LINKS ACCEPTED- The date on your blog post should be dated between the start date & the end date for the challenge you are entering, in order to be eligible for the challenge & prizes

5. You may link up to other challenges but be sure to link back to Jo's Scrap Shack and to the challenge post you are entering

*All entries that do not meet the challenge requirements

WILL NOTbe eligible for the top 3, any sponsor wins or any random wins by Jo
All random wins will only be mailed within the US and Canada only.

Welcome to our new mid-month challenge at Dies R US! Our challenge today is anything goes using dies. So anything you want to create, any theme, any style... just use some dies on your project. So here is the card that I created for today's challenge.

I wanted to make a birthday card for my mom as her birthday is a week after my daughter's. My sweet daughter's birthday is on the 19th (This Saturday, turning 14!!!) and then my mom's follows next week on the 27th. So being that I already have my daughter's made, I figured with this challenge being anything goes, I would take the opportunity to make my mom's birthday card! So I started off by using the largest die in the Floral Ovals dies by Spellbinders to create my card base. I used GP cardstock for the base and I cut out another layer from beautiful shabby paper pad from the Paper Studio. I then cut out the Impression Obsession- Paper Cone Die from wood paper in the same paper pad. To the middle of the cone, I added some beautiful washi tape with gold edges. I cut some ferns, also from Spellbinders to put inside the cone. Once that was finished, I added in some beautiful flowers that I had cut using Impression Obsession- Bunch of Blossoms Dies. I added in some glitter to my flowers using my Spectrum clear sparkle pen. The sentiment was cut also from a Spellbinder's set called "Sentiment one" and I cut it twice in pink and black as I wanted it to have that black shadow effect. And to finish off my card, I added in one simple gold heart to bring out the gold in the washi tape. I hope my mama likes her birthday card this year!

And that completes my card! All of the dies that I used are highlighted in the links above and can be found in the Dies R Us store HERE.

Well that is all I have for you today my friends. I appreciate you for taking time out of your day to visit me and see what I am up to. Please don't forget to stop by the Dies R US challenge blog to see what the rest of my design team sisters have created for you today. And make sure to link up your own project too! And for more inspiration, check out the Dies R US Inspiration blog . You will find yourself browsing for awhile. There are so many gorgeous projects that will surely inspire you! Thanks again for stopping by!

The Paper Shelter

Oddball Art

DigiStamps4joy

Star Stampz

Kenny K

Sunny Studio Stamps

Lawn Fawn

Bugaboo Stamps

Limited Runs Digis

Di's Digis

I Guest Designed For

All videos, photos, text and artwork on this blog are property of Jo's Scrap Shack and 3 Twenty Crafts. They are posted for your enjoyment and inspiration. If you do find inspiration here, and add it to your design, please give credit where credit is due, and post a link back. Please do not sell, reproduce, submit for competition, challenges or for publication. Thank you!